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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain was a nation-state located amidst the British Isles in the north of the European continent on Earth. It was first established in 1707 as the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801, it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the fusion of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. Citizens of the United Kingdom were known as Britons. The United Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy. The monarch, in the person of either a King or Queen, served as a ceremonial head of state. The actual power of the government rested with the Prime Minister and a parliament. Originally, England, Scotland, and Wales were the constituent countries that united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Ireland was added in 1801 and continued as a part of the United Kingdom until the 1920s, when most of it won independence; upon that point, the state became known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, due to the continued presence of six northern Irish counties within the UK. In 2024, Northern Ireland was reunited with the rest of Ireland. ( ) London was the capital city of the United Kingdom. Throughout the 19th century, the United Kingdom was the dominant political power on Earth, operating a vast empire that was the largest in the planet's history. It was often said that the sun never set on the British Empire. This colonial period later proved untenable, and, as with the colonial habits of many other European states, contributed to human rights abuses and to extreme global instability in subsequent generations. Nonetheless, the United Kingdom was also a center of world culture, learning, and scientific and political advancement. The United Kingdom, like the rest of Earth's old polities, eventually joined United Earth some time between UE's founding in 2130 and 2150, the year the last hold-outs became a part of the world state. ( , ) London later became the site of Alpha Centauri's Embassy on Earth, lasting into the 2370s. ( ) Throughout its history, the United Kingdom operated a Royal Navy. The Reed family served in the Royal Navy for generations; the United Kingdom continued to operate the Royal Navy as late as the 2150s. ( ) Whilst the political status of the United Kingdom has never been directly discussed, the existence of the Royal Navy implies that the state maintained its monarchy at least into the 22nd Century. Mirror universe In the mirror universe, British history followed a similar course with respect to its numerous conflicts with Ireland over the course of several centuries. ( ) Alternate timeline In an alternate timeline accidentally created by Leonard McCoy saving Edith Keeler's life in March 1930, the United Kingdom was conquered by Nazi Germany prior to 1944. Before its conquest, it was bombarded by German V-2 rockets for months. In May 1946, Ireland was liberated from the Nazis in the Battle of Portmagee. This in turn led to the Allies retaking the United Kingdom. ( ) Geography England * Bath * Cambridge University * Coventry * Dover * Liverpool * London * Nottingham Scotland * Aberdeen * Edinburgh * Glamis ** Glamis Castle * Glasgow Wales * Cardiff Other Geographical Locations * Highlands * Loch Ness * Sherwood Forest * Stonehenge Languages *English *Gaelige *Scots *Cymraeg *Manx *Kernowek Famous Britons * Julian Bashir * John Burke * Malcolm Reed * Montgomery Scott * Margaret Thatcher Famous Irishmen * Miles O'Brien * William Brennan * Daniel Corrigan * Jack Corrigan * Dermot Cusack * Molly McCook * Kevin Riley * Tom Walker * Oscar Wilde * Gabrielle Witty * W. B. Yeats Connections * * * * Category:Earth nation-states